Harsh defeat against Grenada CF

Betis lets a vital final escape them 

It was an authentic final, one of six, and Real Betis did not put in their best performance for this kind of game in which no one needed to say how important it was. We saw the same defensive line as in the match against Espanyol. Rubén went out on the left wing so that Molina could be further forward. Despite all these adjustments there was no improvement. The home team started off very strong and Adán began to reassure his team mates. Recio, first, and El-Arabi, later threatened by nearly scoring but the green-and-white goalkeeper was efficient. Despite al the danger being created by Granada, Betis could have scored off a free kick taken by Verdú which Molina headed but did not manage to put the ball into the goal defended by Roberto, who managed to clear it without any serious problems. Jorge committed a foul on the rebound and it all came to nothing. However, the home team was not intimidated and continued to control the match disturbing the Green-and-whites with their incursions on their goal. Calderón, made some changes to the formation employed in the match against Espanyol by putting Rubén Castro on the left wing. It was from this position that the Canarian put a pass though to Molina who was not able to control the ball and face up to Roberto. The ball was for Granada, Betis did not have possession but little by little they did manage to go on some counter attacks. The three full backs did manage to resolve the problems in the area but they were suffering on the wings. A marking error on a free kick on the wing came close to being the first goal scored against them. Slip ups in the marking made return appearance making the team feel uncertain and uncomfortable. This buzz was constant and eventually in the 30th minute they scored a goal with a crossing pass that got behind the defenders, Piti controlled the ball and he defined a perfect shot coming in from the left wing. The quantity, on this occasion, did not provide the defensive quality required and Betis suffered a major set back which took them time to recover from. Meanwhile the local team grew and continued to look for a second goal. Betis entered into a disordered phase in which they were chasing shadows and the half time interval could not have come sooner for them to rethink the match which was getting more complicated with each passing minute.

Betis had forty-five minutes ahead of them to turn the result around and they went in search of the goal right from the start but Molina, in a piece of play which was a carbon copy of the one in the first half, failed to finish off a free kick taken by Verdú. The minutes ticked by and Betis were not getting anywhere, not creating plays or scoring opportunities. They did have some possession but it was conceded to them by the home team and as it did not look like it was going to change Calderón made some changes from the bench. Salva and Baptistao went on for Lolo and Juan Carlos and the first thing they found was a shot by Dani Benítez, off a pass by Ibrahimi, which went over the crossbar leaving the scoreboard as it was. The Argentinian manager soon used up all his changes when Nosa went on to replace Verdú two minutes after the double substitution. The new additions did not make the game flow any better but Betis was still just a goal away, a goal that Baptistao came close to scoring after a great combination between Salva and Rubén. Roberto managed to get his hand to it and saved the day, this piece of play lead to a break down in the match with the ball shuttling back and forth. Rubén wanted to take centre stage and if before he put a pass through to Baptistao, a few minutes later he did the same for Molina but the forward did not manage to reach the ball. The match turned to madness and Dani Benítez lost his head and was sent off after a really hard entry on Nono. Granada had to face the remaining 12 minutes of the match one man down but the team from Heliopolis were not on form, and it was too much for them against a team that had only managed three shots on goal, and of those they only failed to score on two of them. The passage of time only lead to Amaya's expulsion and the despair of some of the players who saw how this all important final slipped through their fingers when the final whistle went.

 

 

1- Granada CF. Roberto; Nyom, Ilori, Murillo, Brayan Angulo; Fatau, Recio, Fran Rico; Piti (Dani Benítez, m. 60), Brahimi and El Arabi (Foulquier, m. 85) (Riki, m. 81)

1-0, m. 30: Piti

0- Real Betis. Adán; Juanfran, Amaya, Ndiaye, Jordi Figueras, Juan Carlos (Baptistao, m. 65); Lolo Reyes (Salva Sevilla, m. 65), Nono, Verdú (Nosa, 67); Jorge Molina and Rubén Castro

José Antonio Teixeira Vitienes (Cantabrian Referee's Association). Yellow cards for Nono, Amaya, Nyom, Piti, Ndiaye, Baptistao, Riki. Sent off Dani Benítez in the 79th minuted with an immediate red card and Amaya with a second yellow card in extra time.

Stadium: Nuevo Los Cármenes